Amazon's Comixology migration is a disaster - here's what you need to know

AppleInsider

Comixology is migrating users to a new app that brings all the good and bad features of Amazon Kindle with it. Here's everything you need to know about the migration.

Migrating Comixology to an Amazon business model has created some problems for users

Amazon purchased Comixology in 2014 and had left it to operate as a separate business until a recent move to make the service more universal. With the Comixology 4.0 update, the service is being added to the Kindle and users' libraries are being migrated into their Amazon purchase history.

This means users must download the new app and begin migrating their data. However, not all features are available in the new app.

According to Comixology co-founder and CEO David Steinberger, the company had to launch the new 4.0 app now to speed up the transition. The company claims that despite having done so for more than seven years, couldn't continue developing two separate code bases for the old app and the new app in parallel.

At the center of this migration is the transition of Comixology from an independent store to Amazon. This means all previous purchases made on Comixology will now be listed in your Amazon purchase history alongside Kindle books.

Users must merge their Comixology account with their Amazon account to sign in to the new app.

Following the merge, iOS and Android users with automatic app updates enabled do not need to take any action. Once the Comixology 4.0 update is available it will be installed automatically. Your downloaded comics will be deleted during the update process..

According to the FAQ, this migration may several hours depending on the size of your collection. If your purchases don't immediately appear in the new app, they will eventually sync between the old and new accounts.

Once the comics are migrated to the new app, users can download their library again.

The migration process doesn't seem to be going smoothly, and it's not clear why. Some collectors have complained that they are missing hundreds of comics or lost their collection entirely. Others are enraged at the loss of a functional browser-based comic viewer.

Okay so Amazon finally murders Comixology and my library is just... gone? This is neat.

-- mighty ybaba (@mcnostrilcom)

February 18, 2022

Users will also notice that the Archive function is missing in the new app. Any comic you previously archived will show up in your main library and there is no option to hide these. Comixology says the Archive feature will return in a future update.

Importantly, though: Do not delete your comics. While it may be frustrating to have your library filled with books you've finished or no longer wish to read, deleting the book is permanent. Bafflingly, at this time, a deleted comic must be re-purchased in order to get it back in your library.

Alongside the existing Comixology Unlimited service, users can access Kindle Unlimited and Prime Reading in the Comixology app as well. Kindle Unlimited and Prime Reading have comics, manga, and graphic novels that fit in with the Comixology app experience.

But I truly can't find words strong enough for this. I'm livid. I'm horrified. Comixology was unique among the readers for actually understanding comics and their history and giving you appropriate display options. It has frustrated me for literally a decade that only they did.

-- Amy Dallen (@enthusiamy)

February 12, 2022

Any customer who pre-ordered a book on Comixology will be migrated to an Amazon pre-order via an emailed link. All subscriptions to series have been canceled, so customers must manually seek out and purchase new releases in a series when they become available.

All purchases made in Comixology will also appear in Kindle Books. Users can hide comics manually in their Amazon account for now, but a filter for these collections will come to Kindle soon.

There is no purchase experience on the iOS app due to Apple's in-app purchase requirements. Users can purchase new comics directly from Amazon and Kindle or Amazon's Comixology landing page.

The Comixology app team promises that many of these issues will be addressed in future updates, but that doesn't help users that are being forced to migrate now. There isn't a timeline for further updates, and Amazon suggests that users who have an issue with their library or the update should contact Comixology support at support@comixology.com.

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foregoneconclusion

eBooks in general are a stagnant platform with very little innovation. I gave up on graphic oriented digital books a long time ago for that reason. 

jdb8167

foregoneconclusion said:

eBooks in general are a stagnant platform with very little innovation. I gave up on graphic oriented digital books a long time ago for that reason. 

Monopolies will do that. But don't worry, the DOJ was on the case and punished the culprit that had 5% of the market. Problem solved?

narwhal

jdb8167 said:

Monopolies will do that. But don't worry, the DOJ was on the case and punished the culprit that had 5% of the market. Problem solved?

Former Obama press secretary James Carney runs the 250+ person Amazon division that bribes government officials on Amazon's behalf. It's why Amazon's monopoly is propped up by the DOJ and Amazon doesn't pay taxes.

danox

When Amazon bought Comixology, I dropped them like a rock and I will never used them nor buy comics or books from Amazon….

9secondkox2

I had comixology. Was a big comics fan as a teenager. Revisited much of that And really had a blast. 

But then comixology broke the easy way I paid for comics. All I would do is tap “purchase” and set my thumb on my iPad. Boom. Done. And all my comics were in the app. It was really great. 

 Then they announced they’d gotten greedy snd wanted to break the app snd have me go online and “merge” my account - I couldn’t even keep my comics in the app. I followed directions snd merger. But good luck finding my comics. 

They’d disappeared. And the payment system is a fiasco snd not one I trust. So I haven’t purchased another one at all. 

They’d broken my trust and robbed me of the many comics I’d already bought. Never again with these guys.

thanks Amazon…

edited February 2022

narwhal

For years now, Comixology has been encouraging us to click the My Books button to access our purchased comics (this is in a browser on a computer). On the new website, I have no idea how to read my thousands of books. Anyone have an idea? At this point, I'd like my purchases refunded, all 12 years of them.

merget

I can read my library just fine in the Comixology app on my android phone, although I must say that I preferred the old interface.  (Especially the old store, which made it easy to see a description of the comic as well as the writer, artist, etc.  In other words, all the things that would make me interested in buying a comic.  You have to click a few levels deep to get that info in the new store; they seem to think that people make purchases based solely on the cover image .)

I cannot read my comics in the Kindle desktop mac app, despite what Amazon says.  That said, I *can* read them in the Kindle web browser at https://read.amazon.com, which is superior to the desktop app at the moment.  (Which is admittedly not saying much.  Neither allows me to import my collections, so my books are "organized" in a big pile.)

bestkeptsecret

Every time I decide to take the plunge into digital comics, I go to Comixology or the DC app and every time I get sticker shock and decide against it.
The prices are too steep and I stick to my age-old method of buying the trade paperbacks (or the DC Absolute Editions, if I really love the books). 

My 12.9" iPad Pro has such a gorgeous screen that I love reading whatever few digital comics I have, but I find the price too steep for me. 

All the gimmicks that were tried to make the comics interactive were really not that great. The panel-to-panel panning and zooming reminded me of the Hulk cartoon from almost 40 years ago - which was exactly like that. 

For casual comic readers like myself, the endless cross-overs and one-shots and "events" just pushed me to re-reading my older comics and just picking up the occasional TPB.

It was simpler times when you could read the adventures of Superman, Superboy and Super Baby without having to worry about how it was even possible, or when the entire series, like Neil Gaiman's Sandman, stood alone and you could follow it without having to worry about picking up issue 13 of  the Atari Force to understand the full story.

/rant.

lordjohnwhorfin

Well played Amazon… Snatching defeat off the jaws of victory. 

blw37a

If you have an account with an overseas Amazon company the changes are much much worse.

It is actually impossible for me to download my comics to the new app (I have been trying for weeks).

I can't purchase new comics through either the app or the comixology "website" even if I could read them (I know this because I tried to order a free comic to see if I could download new purchases). It tells me it needs to change my Amazon account to the US and then just stops.

Also, I changed my settings to disable one-click but when I open a page the ONLY option it gives for purchasing is one-click

WTF???!!!

They really don't want my business.

And it's sad because a tablet is actually a great way of reading comics for those of us with failing eyesight.